Knox County taxpayers are paying an average of $284 an hour so the county can sue itself, according to billing records obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee through a public records request.

The lawsuit is doubly expensive because both Law Director Bud Armstrong and the pension board have hired outside lawyers to fight the convoluted lawsuit. All of the fees are paid by taxpayers.

$600,000 and counting

Through the end of September, the county has paid about $635,300 for the lawsuit, which dates back to the fall of 2017.

The law director’s office, represented by Egerton McAfee Armistead & Davis, has been billed roughly $213,588, while the pension board, which is represented by three law firms, has billed the county about $421,711.

The pension board has been billed more than double the hours, approximately 1,540 compared with 738.3, but the law director’s lawyers have billed an average of $304 an hour compared with the pension board lawyers’ average of $276 an hour.

The law director’s average rate per hour jumped up after one $31,307 bill for 48.1 hours worked amounted to roughly $651 an hour.

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Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs has proposed a settlement he hoped would end the pension lawsuit because he said it was becoming too expensive.(Photo: Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel)

Both sides likely racked up dozens of hours in October, which are not shown in the numbers.

The calculations for the pension board’s fees did not include invoices the lawyers sent for court reporting services and other ancillary items, which reached into the thousands of dollars, nor did it include some legal fees.

“It’s just gone on too long. It’s time to put this issue to bed … it’s well past time,” he said.

The lawsuit pits the county law department against the county pension board and eight Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies — seven retired and one active — who have been approved to receive benefits under the county's Uniformed Officers Pension Plan.

The suit seeks to reverse a longstanding pension board process and require the board to calculate pensions using base salary, not total compensation — such as including vacation pay — resulting in reduced benefits. Jacobs has proposed a settlement that would amend the plan to allow including up to 43 days of vacation pay in figuring pensions.

Ruling upcoming

Chancellor John Weaver is expected to rule on the length of the law director’s authority in the coming days. It is not clear if Weaver’s decision, which is expected to be written, will end the suit.

Last week the county commission followed Jacobs’ lead in approving a proposed settlement that tasks Armstrong with ceasing the suit.